A modeling study on the hydrodynamics of a coastal embayment occupied by mussel farms (Ria de Ares-Betanzos, NW Iberian Peninsula)

Model simulations and empirical results show the presence of a cyclonic gyre in the central part of the ria that results from the combined effect of the Eume and the Mandeo river flows. Results suggest that the residual circulation is positive independently of the local wind regime and strongly depressed in the areas where mussel cultivation rafts are concentrated (up to 15%) as a result of their drag effects.163